


Be Still, My Heart

by Nikoraptor18



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, Pierced Reader, Tatted Reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29276265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikoraptor18/pseuds/Nikoraptor18
Summary: You were transferred to the art division from the gang unit. Agent Marcus Pike is your supervisor and sparks fly.
Relationships: Marcus Pike/Reader
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

It has been about month since the dreaded break up between up Marcus Pike and Teresa Lisbon. Marcus, who has not yet transferred to D.C., was still having to work in same space as her and Patrick Jane. And it killed him.

He hated seeing them together. True, he understood that maybe he moved too fast, and that she clearly wasn’t over her feelings for Jane, but it left a bitter seed inside him.

_‘Why wasn’t I enough?’_

He tried his best not to ruminate on the thoughts, feelings, or memories that would barrage his brain all hours through the day. He tended to run through the motions. His team could tell. His team noticed he was quieter, that he smiled less. There was nothing they could. How does a person help heal a broken heart?

It was about midday when he was informed that he was getting a transfer teammate. They were coming in from the gang unit. So, he got the desk that sat opposite his ready for them.

He was deep into reading a file, vaguely aware that the elevator dinged, when a voice cleared their throat.

He looked up and was surprised by the sight he saw. It was a woman, dressed in pencil skirt and a silk blouse, that fitted her perfectly. She had tattoos up and down her arms, and he could see some on her legs. She had multiple piercings in her ears, and one in her lower lip.

Upon first sight, he expected someone who was going to be gruff and rude but was pleasantly surprised when he heard her speak.

“Hi. Agent Pike? My name is Steel,” Her voice was soft and dainty sounding.

“Steel?” He asked, slightly confused because that was not the name he was given.

She gasped, slapping a hand lightly to her forehead, and gave him her real name.

“Sorry, I’ve been undercover too long. Steel was my nickname,” She apologized by biting her lip softly.

“That’s okay. I like it. Is it because of the piercings or what?” he asked curious, he found her charming.

“That and they said I had ‘nerves of steel.’ I don’t know. It’s silly, but it stuck,” She commented with a shrug.

He smiled and nodded before informing her, “Alright, so here’s where you’ll sit. This pile of folders are all of our open cases so far. Familiarize yourself with them. This isnt the gang unit so it’s not really action-packed, so… sorry if that’s a problem.”

“Not a problem at all. I’m ready for something a bit… calmer. Question though, why is our unit down here? I thought we had an entire floor?” She questioned sitting down.

“We usually do. The floor is being renovated and in a month and a half, half of the team will be going to D.C. so. Kind of just stuck here,” Marcus explained ignoring the pang in his chest as he thought about it.

“Oh. Okay. Would I be included in that half?” She asked quietly.

“Probably. The director will let you know by the end of the week,” He told her before returning to his file.

She nodded her head and took a moment to quietly study him. He was awfully handsome, and she could tell he was probably quite the gentlemen. She knew her body art can be quite the shocker, but his stare never once turned judgmental. In fact, he almost appeared curious about them.

She got to work and slowly met the rest of the team as the day went on. At the end of the day, they offered to buy her a drink, as a celebration. She accepted with a smile and looked over at Marcus who was still working.

“Would you like to join us?” She offered walking over to him.

He looked up at the question and noticed everyone was about to head out.

He politely shook his head, “No. Thank you though.”

She nodded her head once, and gave him a small wave goodbye, as she rejoined the others. They headed to a local pub that was 2 blocks over. They ordered their drinks and were talking amongst themselves.

At one point she noticed, one of the team members, Jack, scoffed quietly. She looked at him confused and followed his gaze over to the table where the other team that they shared space with sat. The others slowly got into a soured mood as they noticed their presence as well.

She whispered, “What’s up? Why are y’all acting weird?”

Amanda, who sat next to her, “So, you were bound to find out. But... the leader over there? Lisbon? Marcus was dating her.”

Chase who sat across from her finished, “He even proposed to her. She accepted but not even an hour later, broke it off to be with the blonde asshat you see with them.”

“So. We don’t like them,” Jack stated rolling his eyes.

Steel mouthed a silent ‘oh.’

“Worst part is, he’s also divorced. He has the worst luck with women and he’s honestly the sweetest guy I know. If I didn’t have a wife, I would take him,” Amanda said with a small sigh.

Steel listened to them, as they told her more stories about their boss. Not one of them seem to have a bad thing to say about him. That night as she went home, she was determined to make him smile again.

It began subtly. She would leave sticky notes randomly on his desk, that told silly jokes/puns or have phrases of encouragement.

His smile would be faint when he would find them. He was well aware of who was leaving them. Only one person had bright pink sticky notes, and she left them sitting on her desk.

Then she began to leave little flowers or candies on his desk. She always acted like she didn’t know what he was talking about when he brought it up. This went on for 2 weeks. When she found out that she would be heading to D.C. with them, she asked Marcus if he would be okay with helping her pack up some things. With it being a month away, most of them had the majority of their things packed up already.

He agreed to help with a smile.

That weekend, they went and got boxes and tubs galore. Her house was two-story townhouse. She fortunately, didn’t have stuff in every room, but she did have quite the library. Which is what he wound up helping her with the most.

They spent a great deal of time talking about books, especially over lunch and dinner. They were finishing up in the library later that evening when Marcus paused for a moment.

“How… how many tattoos do you have?” He asked eventually.

“Quite a few. I plan to get more as well. Piercings is probably easier to tell you,” She mentioned offhandedly.

“You have more than what I can see?” He inquired looking at her closely.

She giggled and cleared her throat before explaining “So I have 5 in each ear. My lip. Umm. This is probably too much info for my boss to know but I also had my nipples pierced anddd.. someplace else.”

He raised an eyebrow at that, his mouth dropping. “Wow.”

“Well, I had to get rid of,” She gestured to her chest. “when I began in the academy, so I technically don’t have them anymore. Uh. Tis not fun to run with them.”

He blushed lightly at that and chuckled softly, looking away.

“And… I think that’s enough on the TMI portion from my end. Um. Do you have any body modifications?” She asked awkwardly trying to get the focus off of her.

“No. I do not. Um. Always thought about getting a tattoo but was never brave enough to do it,” He mentioned as he took a seat on a tub.

“Really? Well. Maybe when we are in D.C., we can go get you a tattoo. I’d hold your hand and everything,” She suggested sitting next to him.

“I’d like that. Even the hand-holding part,” He teased lightly.

They stared at each, looking softly at one another. Her eyes glanced down at his lips briefly, wondering what they would feel like against hers.

He slowly leaned forward, his hand brushing along her jaw. She hesitantly closed the gap, pressing her lips against his. She pulled away slightly, trying to make sure he was okay with this. He pulled her back to him and kissed her more firmly. The passion was unhurried, building up gradually. When they pulled away, they were both breathless. 

“Wow,” She whispered looking down, feeling her cheeks warm up.

Marcus cleared his throat and said, “I really like you… and I’m sure you’ve heard… about my previous relationship. If… if it doesn’t bother you… I’d like to be with you but… if.. if we could take it slowly?”

She looked up at him, stunned. “Honestly… I was worried you were about to say that was a mistake. I don’t mind taking this slowly. I just got out of pretty bad relationship myself to be honest. But I like you. A lot.”

He bit his lip briefly and nodded his head. “If I may, since we only really got a room done… maybe tomorrow I can take you out to lunch as a date before tackling the next room?”

“I’d like that,” She agreed softly smiling brightly at him.

She walked him to the door, and she started to tell him goodbye, but stopped.

“I know we agreed to take it slowly… but can I kiss you again?” She requested, fiddling with a lock of hair nervously.

He stepped forward, leaned down, and pressed his lips to hers in response. She slowly wrapped her hands around his neck, burying them in his hair, as she kissed back.

The kiss was shorter but still just as passionate.

As he pulled away, he quietly confirmed, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

She nodded telling him goodbye as he walked out. She locked the door with a sigh. She felt super giddy and couldn’t wait to see him again tomorrow.

Marcus, as he stepped into his car, felt happy. Something he hadn’t felt in a while. He looked forward to seeing Steel again. That night, as he got ready for bed, he realized… that not once that day… did his mind ever think of Lisbon. Even now, as he settled into his bed, he wasn’t riddled with thoughts or memories of their doomed relationship. He fell asleep thinking of woman covered in tattoos and piercings


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Past relationships are talked about. Hints somewhat at the future. Made up the ex-wife story to make it a dash more angsty.

The next morning Steel was pacing in and out of her closet, trying to figure out what to wear for her lunch date. Nothing fit right, this dress made her look fat, that one made her look like a square. That out fit had too many holes or had a strange stain? She couldn’t figure out from what??

She had thrown out half her closet onto her bed and was growing frustrated as time passed. She had showered that morning and was walking around in a robe with her hair air drying. She fiddled lightly with her lip piercing as she stared at her dwindling closet and the pile of clothes on the bed.

She had an hour left before Marcus would arrive and she had no idea what to wear. Should she wear something cute? Or should it be something comfy since they would be also be working on packing up her house? Why was this so difficult? She sighed loudly, running her hand over her face, exasperated.

She began giving herself a pep talk, “Marcus doesn’t care what you look like. You could literally wear a burlap sack and he’d think you were hot. Just grab some jeans and a cute top and go.”

She did just that after a moment of more debating, finalizing the outfit. She threw on some flats, just as she heard the doorbell ring. She moved downstairs, to the door, opening it with a smile.

Who she saw there was not who she was expecting.

“Valentina. What… what are you doing here?” She asked nervously.

“Heard you were moving. That true?” Valentina asked casually, leaning against the door-jam.

Valentina was a teenaged girl, with long dark curly hair, bright hazel eyes, and tanned skin. She looked every bit of her Latina background.

“Yes. I’m being transferred to DC. What… why are you here honey?” She questioned, her eyes darting around as she looked for any sign of oncoming trouble.

“My brother misses you. He won’t say it, but he does,” Valentina mentioned with a shrug.

Steel didn’t know what to say that. Her brother was named Felix, and he was the reason why she wound up having to leave the gang unit.

She had developed feelings for him while undercover, and when he found out she was a federal agent, he had nearly killed her and her partner.

“Sweetie… does he know you are here?” Steel inquired with a small sigh.

“No. He doesn’t. I just… I missed you too,” Valentina confessed as she fiddled with her fingers.

Steel felt her heart break a little at that.

“Honey… I miss you as well, but it’s… I…” Steel struggled to speak.

As she struggled to find the words to say to her, Marcus had pulled up, and was making his way to the door. He slowed a bit as he reached the two of them.

“Hey, who is this?” He wondered as he stopped near them.

“No one important apparently,” Valentina huffed as she turned and walked away.

Steel tried to stop her, but Valentina had picked up her pace, and disappeared down the street.

“I interrupted something important, I feel,” Marcus said uncertainly.

“It’s… a long story. Um. I can… explain over lunch,” Steel replied somewhat deflated.

She grabbed what she needed for their lunch date, her purse and phone, and locked up before leaving.

They went to a small café nearby that served sandwiches and wraps; once they had their food, they sat outside eating peacefully.

“Did… did anyone tell you why I was transferred out of the gang unit?” Steel began after a few bites into her wrap.

“No. I heard rumors, but I wasn’t going to pay them much mind. I figured you would explain it fully one day,” Marcus noted with a thoughtful look.

“I was undercover… and I fell in love with the worst possible person. The leader of this up-and-coming gang. Felix. He… could be extremely charming. I fell for him hard. I spent 3 years undercover, and when it was revealed that I was federal agent… he lost it,” She continued, staring at her wrap, no longer hungry.

“What do you mean he lost it? What did he do? Did he hurt you?” Marcus asked, concern growing with each question.

“He… badly hurt my partner and shot me. Left me for dead. I’m not going to go into details, but the damage he did to my partner was so great that… they wound up leaving the agency. I was given the choice to either transfer or take early retirement, at half benefits. We… had disgraced the agency essentially. So… here I am,” She finished with a weak smile.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. So, the girl who came to see you, she’s…?” He gently prompted.

“His kid sister. Valentina. I adored her. She’s a good kid. Straight A student who wants to be a doctor of some sort when she grows up. I dont know why she came to me today, she heard I was moving, I guess. I was nervous cause Felix usually doesn’t let her go too far without him. Figured he had come to finish the job,” Steel shrugged, taking a somewhat shaky sip of her drink.

Marcus nodded, “She probably cares for you. If you were in her life for 3 years, she’s probably attached to you. Don’t blame her. You are pretty wonderful.”

Steel smiled, looking away at the compliment. They finished their meal, silently. Steel had lost a great deal of her appetite and had only had a couple more bites, before giving up entirely.

They got into Marcus’ car; however, Marcus didn’t start it. He looked at her for a moment.

“Where would she be at this time?” Marcus asked her.

“Huh? Where would who be?” She was confused.

“Valentina. Where would she be at, at this time of day?” Marcus clarified.

“Probably home. Why?” She was still confused.

“Listen. In less than a month, you will be in DC. Do you want to leave here, knowing that she’s still upset about what happened or do you want to give her some sort of closure?” He insisted as he looked at her softly.

Steel was silent for a moment. She quietly told him the address, knowing on some level he had a point.

30 minutes later, they were parked outside a large apartment complex, and she could see many gang members walking around. Toward the center, she spotted Valentina…with Felix. She hated that as she looked at him, her heart still raced.

“Do me a favor… stay in the car please. I can’t lose another partner. Or someone else I care a great deal for. So, no matter what happens… stay here,” She quietly pleaded with him.

She stepped out, taking a deep breath. She strode forward toward Valentina, wincing slightly as she noticed that the conversations all around her dying as people recognized her.

“Valentina,” She called out, once she was close.

Valentina whipped her head toward her, staring at her surprised, before she rushed over to hug her.

“Why are you here? Did you come here to see me? Or Felix?” Valentina rattled off questions left and right.

However, her questions went in one ear and out the other as she made eye contact with Felix, who stared at her with a confusing look. Part of him looked angry, and another part…looked oddly… relieved to see her?

“I’m just here to talk to Valentina for a moment. Is that okay?” She requested as her body tensed when he started to move toward her.

He simply nodded his head. She pulled Valentina someplace quiet, away from the others to talk. She tried to explain everything that had happened between her and her brother. About who she was, her job and such. Valentina listened to her, and when she was done, Valentina said she understood.

“I get it… I also know… you wouldn’t have arrested my brother. You love him. Or you did. But you also love me and know that he’s the only family I have and arresting him would lead to me being in the foster system. And we both know you wouldn’t allow that, so you’d probably adopt me… well. Damn. Now that I think about it that’d be cool…” Valentina rambled.

“Language. And you are probably right… I wouldn’t have arrested him… which is somewhat problematic as a federal agent. I just… needed to let you know… that just because we aren’t together anymore…doesn’t mean I stopped caring about you,” She assured in a low voice.

“In fact…” She trailed off as she grabbed Valetina’s phone.

She tapped in her new phone number, saving it as a new contact.

“If you are ever in trouble, call me, text me, send a pigeon with a scroll. I don’t care. The second you are in trouble and Felix can’t get you out of it, you get ahold of me. No matter how far I am or what time it is, I will come help you, okay?” Steel assured her as she handed the phone back to her.

Valentina nodded rapidly, throwing her arms around her neck, in a tight hug. Steel returned the embrace just as tightly.

“Okay. I gotta go. I have to continue packing up stuff and I’m making everyone a little too nervous,” Steel tells her as they pulled away.

Steel escorted her back to Felix, not saying anything to him as she walked back to Marcus’ car.

When she was safely inside his car, and they were driving away, she took a shaky breath.

“Feel better?” Marcus asked curiously.

“Yeah. Gave her my number in case anything ever happened. One day Felix will wind up in jail or worse dead, and she’s going to be alone. The foster system is a rough way of life, especially for teenagers. I… I don’t want her to feel abandoned,” Steel explained, trying to calm her nerves.

Marcus reached over and held one of her hands, his thumb brushing over the back of her hand, soothingly.

“I’m sure she appreciates it. In some ways, Felix probably does too, knowing you’d look out for her. For now… there’s not much you can do,” Marcus said pressing a kiss to her hand, trying to help her calm down.

She had been so nervous and even as she had spoke to Valentina, she worried someone would try to do something to her. Now that she was out of the life-threatening situation, her body was catching up with her mind. Her hands were shaking, and her heart felt like it was trying to escape her chest. It took a few minutes before she was finally able to breathe easy. 

Marcus took her home, and as promised, helped her pack up more of her house. He laughed when he saw the state of her bedroom though.

“Did a tornado attack your closet, honey?” He joked gently bumping his hip to hers.

“I… I wanted to look nice for you… but I couldn’t…figure out what to wear… Not going to lie… you make me nervous… Keep hoping I won’t mess up and scare you off,” She stated bashfully.

Marcus stared at her in awe for a moment, “I make you nervous? Hell… here I was… afraid I’d scare you off.”

“Guess it’s a good thing that we agreed to take this slow then eh?” Steel weakly joked.

Marcus pulled her close, arms resting around her waist. She placed her hands on his biceps, as he held her to him.

“Look. We both… have had rough time in the relationship department. I’m sure… you heard about me and Lisbon. You may have also heard that I am divorced,” Marcus started, his hands rubbing soft circles into her back.

“Yeah. I have. Still trying to figure out the whys because you are… amazing, and sweet. I don’t understand how 2 different women left you,” Steel ranted slightly.

“Lisbon and me…. It was doomed from the beginning I feel. She was just… in denial about her feelings for Jane. My ex-wife… when we first started off, I worked at an art museum, I had been an art major in college, and life was… dull essentially. I was recruited by a federal agent that frequented the museum and my wife… was okay with it… at first. She slowly drifted away. She had actually begun to see someone else. I was upset, but I thought… it was just because she was lonely. That if I tried to stay home more maybe that would fix things. It didn’t. So, divorce,” Marcus explained wincing at the faces Steel made.

“She…. Cheated on you. She… what? I… You know… I hope I never meet her, cause I will punch her. Repeatedly. With a chair. It would be one thing… if she left because she couldn’t handle this life. I get it, it’s not an easy life. But she cheated on you,” Steel couldn’t fathom it.

“I’ve long since gotten over it, but I felt since you had revealed something rather personal, you deserved to know something about me. Now that the awkwardness is out of the way… let’s see if we can put your closet back together,” Marcus changed the subject, trying to move away.

“Oh no. C’mere,” She stopped, grabbing him by the front of his shirt.

She pulled him down toward her kissing him. She felt him chuckle a moment before he returned the kiss. The kiss was slow and sweet, slowly building in passion. Her arms wound themselves around his neck, keeping him close.

When they finally pulled apart, their breathes were heavy.

“I don’t know what you are used to, but I can tell you one thing. I would never cheat on you or make you feel second best. If we have a problem, we will talk it out like normal adults, with some pouting and a dash of brooding,” Steel said with a laugh.

“Agreed. I would never hurt you; I hope you know that. Physically or otherwise,” He assured her, looking her in the eyes.

She nodded with a smile, “Now… as much as I would love to just keep kissing you… I really need my clothes off my bed.”

Marcus laughed and began to help her re-hang her clothes. Once her closet was sorted, and she had usable bed again, they made their way back downstairs. They had gotten most of the lower half packed up, the only thing that was left to do was the kitchen. There was a moving company that worked closely with the agency, and Marcus had kindly made sure they added her to the list of people needing to move at the end of the month.

Marcus left before 5, needing to take care of somethings at his place; he left her with a kiss on the cheek, telling her he’d see her tomorrow.

When he left, she checked her phone to see that she had some missed messages. As she looked at them, she realized they were from Valentina.

‘Hi! It’s Valentina’

‘I’m bored.’

‘Felix keeps asking about you. I told him what we talked about. I hope that’s okay?’

She texted her back saying that it was okay.

‘Cool. He might… text you… he keeps looking at my phone.’

Steel quietly sighed, ‘if he does, it’s fine. My concern is you. Not him.’

‘I know. He’d never say it, but he looked relieved when I told him you’d look out for me.’

‘I care about you, even if your brother is an ass. Now, it’s late and a school night. Go finish your homework’ Steel texted her knowing her well.

‘How do you know I have homework?’

‘Because I know you and procrastinating ways. Go do it, eat, and then go to bed.’ Steel replied with a shake of her head.

‘Fiiiinnnneee. Love u.’

‘Love u 2’ she ended the conversation with a sad smile.

She spent the rest of the evening moving boxes around and situating. Making sure heavy boxes were on the ground, and lighter ones stacked on top. She was trying to make it as easy possible, and make sure she didn’t have a 100 tripping hazards.

When it was all said and done, it was close to 9pm. She ate something light before bed, promising herself to get up early and eat a good breakfast to make up for today.

She went to bed, the day’s events hitting her hard. She had been laying down for barely 5 minutes before she was out. Unbeknownst to her… come morning things were going to go downhill quickly.


End file.
